Pacheco running back runs for 292 yards, 2 touchdowns in victory

Frank Ginda earned himself an ice bath and some extra sleep this morning. Ginda rushed for a school-record 292 yards and two scores on Friday night to lead Pacheco to a 29-7 Western Athletic Conference-opening victory over Ceres.

Frank Ginda earned himself an ice bath and some extra sleep this morning.

Ginda rushed for a school-record 292 yards and two scores on Friday night to lead Pacheco to a 29-7 Western Athletic Conference-opening victory over Ceres.

Ginda's 30 carries also were a school record and came a week after he scored four touchdowns in a victory over McNair. In that game, the 6-foot-2, 227-pound load was pressed into a featured role due to injuries in the backfield.

"We just added all of those plays this week," said Ginda, who also had an interception and multiple tackles for a loss on defense. "We had a running back get injured, and coach told me I was going to be the guy on offense.

"I've averaged about seven or eight carries a game, so 30 was a whole new experience."

Central Valley helped Ginda and the Panthers (4-1, 1-0 WAC) get off to an ideal start.

The Hawks (3-2, 0-1 WAC) opted to try a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 from their own 6-yard line on their second possession of the game.

An incomplete pass handed Pacheco a first-and-goal, and Ginda bowled his way into the end zone from 3 yards for a 6-0 lead.

CV answered early in the second quarter when a long Angelo Bermudez punt return gave the Hawks the ball at the Pacheco 13-yard line.

Bermudez finished the drive he started with a 5-yard sweep to make it 7-6 Central Valley.

Both teams fumbled the ball deep in the other side's territory, and it looked like the game might go into halftime 7-6 when Juwan Epperson found Adam Perez with a 30-yard pass play on fourth-and-12.

Epperson hit Maurice Harden with a 4-yard slant for a touchdown a few plays later and Pacheco went into the half up 14-7 after a two-point conversion.

The second half was all Panthers.

Ginda softened up the CV defense with some powerful running and Pacheco shut down the Hawks' versatile attack.

Central Valley star running back Ja'Quan Gardner was limited to 66 yards on 17 carries and kept out of the end zone.

Epperson scored from 1 yard out to make it 22-7 in the third quarter and Ginda added a second rushing score in the fourth to put the game away.

"We had a feeling those plays were going to work, but you never expect it to go that well," Panthers coach David Snapp said. "We were running basically the same stuff, and if you don't make adjustments defensively, it becomes pretty easy to coach.